Cacoethes
by Rylitah
Summary: An insatiable, irresistible, uncontrollable urge to do something harmful. What do you have to say for yourself? / "I don't want to be alone again..." [Oneshot. Entry for Origami Stars' Fears Contest.]


**A/N: whoops i'm entering another horror contest.**

**This is really only the second time I've ever written in second person (the first time being an original work), so if there are any mistakes, please tell me in a review what they are and your impressions about this story. C:**

**Please note that **_**any changes in verb tense are completely intentional.**_

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_Cacoethes_ – An insatiable, irresistible, _uncontrollable urge_ to do something _harmful._

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He was one of the nicest people you've ever met.

Maybe he was a bit on the short side, and maybe you were one of the tallest people around, and maybe you two looked a little awkward hanging around each other nearly every single day. Maybe people talked and whispered behind your backs, speculating that you two were secret lovers despite him being married with children. Maybe he wasn't exactly the _sanest_ person around, with all he's been through, and _maybe_ you had to be five times more careful than you usually were just to make sure you didn't accidentally squish him.

But what you knew for sure was that he was your best friend.

You never did have many close acquaintances despite being one of the more friendly and outgoing smashers. You talked a lot, and people talked back, but you never actually did get to know more about any of them past their first and last names.

He… was different, you supposed. You had a knack for rescuing people in danger, and when you first met him he was definitely in need of some saving. The two of you had a rocky start, but you think that maybe he learned to trust you a bit and you got to actually learn a lot about him rather than just his name and title. You learned of his past, and what he's been through, and even though he was seven times smaller than yourself, you couldn't help but admire and figuratively look up to him for getting through his hardships.

When everything dealing with Tabuu was over and done with, the two of you and everyone else moved into the Smash Mansion in case something as dire as that situation were ever to rise again. The topic of roommates came up, and in a flash you volunteered to be his. His face turned red and he mumbled something under his breath that you couldn't quite hear, but sounded suspiciously like a "thank you." You smiled and patted his head.

He was your best friend. He was kind, caring, and did his best to make sure everyone was happy and content. He looked out for others more than himself, and he never asked for anything in return. On more than one occasion you had to carry him back to your room just because he had overworked himself from moving too much, from trying to please too many people. You told him to calm down, that everyone can take care of themselves, and he nodded and promised not to work so hard. It was obviously an empty promise, as you knew he would just go back to how he was before, but you smiled and patted his head nonetheless. He was almost perfect.

… However, there _was_ one thing you didn't like about him. That came in the form of his own 'friends'.

You weren't exactly sure what to make of them at first. They couldn't talk, they were smaller than even he was, but he acted as if they meant the world to him. You could kind of understand; they were the reason he was even still alive in the first place, but you couldn't help but think that they were also annoying in their overprotectiveness. Though that in essence made _you_ a hypocrite, as you also exerted your own protective aura around him. But you didn't care. You just wanted them gone.

When Master Hand pitted you two against each other in the brawls, you didn't care whether you lost or won. The only thing you focused on was getting _them_ out and killing as many of them as possible. He always said they were ready and prepared to make any sacrifice in winning the battles, so it didn't hurt you to think that he would actually be affected negatively by their deaths.

You killed them in any way you could think of.

You stomped on them, you shot them, you drowned them, you smashed them, you ran over them, you made them explode.

Their bodies would disappear after they died, leaving nothing but a translucent ghost that would vanish after a few seconds anyway. He wouldn't ever suspect you of deliberately trying to get rid of them; you were just one of thirty seven other people living in the mansion trying to get to the top of the rankings and tiers. Even if your only KOs in the matches were of those creatures and didn't count towards your stats and records, he wouldn't suspect you because you two were best friends. He could always create more of them whenever he wanted anyway, right?

He came crying to you in the middle of the night.

Through his small, trembling body and sobbing, shaky voice, you could make out that they just weren't interested in him anymore. They used to see him as a leader, someone to keep their numbers up and rising, but because of the sudden rise in casualties, casualties caused by _you_, they didn't trust him anymore. Every time he produced a new one, they would either run away or just sit and flat out ignore him. No amount of whistle blowing or pleading would get them to listen. But _you_ still listened, and you held him that night as he cried and got it out of his system. You were his only friend now, the only person he could rely on. You smiled and patted his head.

And just like that, his placing in the tier list dropped.

He used to be one of the best fighters, able to cooperate with his friends and almost effortlessly win any battles he competed in. The only real threat to him was Meta Knight, but no one could even come close to that seasoned warrior. But ever since you started targeting only his friends, and because he still had to take at least a few seconds to produce more, he was rendered almost completely useless and powerless. Because his friends wouldn't listen anymore, he couldn't fight.

And just like that, you dragged your best friend from top to bottom.

The other smashers gave their sympathies, as if they actually cared. But you knew that they didn't; his fall allowed them to rise higher in the rankings. They only bothered talking to him to not come across as completely selfish. But you saw them. You saw right through them.

The first to go was Wario. Wario wasn't liked by any of the smashers, even the villains who only hung around him due to their similar labels. No one said anything when he went missing, and maybe they were even a little glad for it. They could finally breathe, at any rate.

Next was Falco, who completely decimated your best friend in a one-on-one match with him. Your best friend hardly ever tries anymore, and you can't blame him. Falco tried inviting him over for crackers and tea, but your best friend didn't say anything and simply left. You took that chance to get the bird.

No one noticed anything for a while, but as their numbers fell, you could tell that they were starting to get a little anxious and nervous. No bodies were found, so they couldn't quite justify the tense atmosphere, but you knew that they knew something was wrong.

Of course, the top suspect was your best friend. Everyone who ever had anything to do with him would go missing a day or two later, and he had a motive. He cried and denied that he was doing anything, that he didn't know what was going on, but they didn't believe him.

Marth suggested locking him up in the basement, where no one ever goes.

You dragged the blue haired swordsman down in the middle of the night and left him there.

Your best friend was almost a complete wreck. His old best friends had abandoned him, and everyone thought he had something to do with the disappearances of the smashers when you both knew that was false. He was a lot more emotional than ever before, and you took that chance to constantly comfort and hold him. He admired how brave you were; he noticed you were the only one that didn't seem to be confused and terrified about what was happening.

He stayed with you every waking moment, almost glued to your side. You didn't mind; you enjoyed the extra attention now that his old friends were gone. After the last one died, he didn't bother producing more. He finally gave up on them. And that, for some reason, made you inexplicably happy. You smiled and patted his head.

Eventually it was down to just you, him, Luigi, Lucas, Ike, Snake, and Samus. Lucas was probably the worst of them all; he stayed locked up in his room and refused to come out for anything except for use of the bathroom and for food, which he would take from the kitchen and bring upstairs.

Luigi was almost just as bad, but he had a better hold of his emotions than the blond child. At least he spent more than ten minutes a day outside. He wanted to leave, but the portals were down since technically the tournament still wasn't over, and there was no way to get them up and running early.

The only reason you let Snake stay this long was due to his naturally paranoid personality and knowledge and possession of countless explosives that you didn't really want to come in contact with. Like Lucas, he stayed holed up in his room, but he didn't audibly cry so loudly that his sobs could be heard throughout the mansion.

Ike was tense, but he tried to bring back the lazy and carefree atmosphere the mansion used to have. But with everyone who was still around, it didn't take more than two minutes for him to figure out and realize that it was hopeless. He stayed in the main living room most of the time, idly flipping through news channels from the worlds he wasn't familiar with.

Samus was the troublemaker of the group, if you had to choose someone. She was actively trying to find out where the missing smashers were and if they were safe, and more than once she had come close to finding out the truth. You managed to stop her most of the time, but you knew that sooner or later she would eventually put the pieces together and solve the mystery.

She had to go.

It was a tough battle, and you weren't necessarily surprised after you admitted to being the one behind everything that she confessed you were her number one suspect as well. Everyone making contact with your best friend had gone missing, and she knew he was too small and weak without his old friends to have anything to do with it. You were the only person he trusted, and thus it wasn't a very hard guess.

After a few hours, you had everything under control. You walked back up to your room where your best friend had been waiting, and he panicked over the bruises and cuts and blood he found all over your tired body. He made a fuss and ran around gathering medical supplies to treat your wounds, not suspecting a single thing from his best friend or even considering that the blood wasn't yours. You smiled and patted his head.

Lucas bumped into him once when bringing food from the kitchen. It was tough breaking into his room, as he had a surprisingly good lock on it, but you got through with your physical strength and took care of him.

Snake may or may not have seen you come from the mansion's basement after taking care of Lucas. Despite the danger of explosives and various assortments of weapons, he was your next victim. He went down surprisingly easily compared to Samus.

You didn't even have to do anything about Luigi. One day Ike found him hanging from the main hallway from the chandelier which you were surprised to learn could even hold up the Italian man's weight. You and Ike worked together to bring him down, and you didn't tell your best friend about the incident after you carried Luigi's body to join the rest of the missing smashers. He figured it out eventually when he couldn't find the green clad plumber anywhere.

It was just you, him, and Ike, and the tournament wasn't officially set to end for another five months. You all once lived together inside of the mansion to be prepared when another catastrophe was set to strike, but Master Hand liked to set up those tournaments to keep everyone's abilities sharp, and he would allow everyone at the end to go home for two weeks before coming back.

Master Hand and his brother left a long time ago. You don't know where they went, but you don't really care.

You and your best friend sit together in your room, hearing nothing but the sound of pouring rain just outside your window. Lightning flashes, illuminating the otherwise dark area, and your best friend jumps into your arms, already sniffling. You know what to expect.

Your best friend starts to cry, the thunder outside almost drowning out his voice. But even then, you will always be able to make out what he says. You will always listen. "I'm scared, I don't know where everyone is, I don't want to die," he sobs, clutching the yellow fabric of your scarf as tight as he can inside of that bulky spacesuit of his. You softly rub your hands over his red gloved ones, holding him close. With only three people left, it isn't really a surprise to learn that he's so scared and terrified. He thinks he has a good chance of being next, of being dragged to wherever the other missing smashers are and of being left to simply _rot_ with them. You know that will never happen to him, but you don't say anything.

"P-please," he manages to choke out, "I don't want anything else to happen. Don't let it, don't go away, _please don't leave me!_" He is entirely dependent on you now that he has absolutely no one else left to turn to. And this is what you have wanted since the very beginning, isn't it? He doesn't deserve any of this; he has been so nice to you since the beginning, and this is how you repay him.

You smile and pat his head.


End file.
